A Sky Full of Stars
by xXxCometxXx
Summary: (Formerly 'Love Is Like Fire' - currently editing) Annastacia Samogon and Kai Hiwatari have been separated for a time until now, brought back together by a past, fate and prophecies to come - what they have to discover is that everything that began for them when they first met, will soon test who they have become, and who they will choose to be with what the stars have given them.
1. Another Today, Another Tomorrow

_**The following said story 'A Sky Full of Stars' is strictly property of xXxCometxXx©.**_

_**The additional individuals of the persons Annastacia Samogon, Rachel Smith, Rebecca Howard, Elaina Dela Vega, Stephanie Banks, Kathryn Capulet, Abigail Wise, Natasha Tolland, Ophelia Samogon and Thomas Samogon belong exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very characters.**_

_**The additional individuals of the persons Annastacia Samogon, Rachel Smith, Rebecca Howard, Elaina Dela Vega, Stephanie Banks, Kathryn Capulet, Abigail Wise, Natasha Tolland, Ophelia Samogon and Thomas Samogon's auto biographies exclusively belong to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very characters auto biographies.**_

_**The storyline of the story 'A Sky Full of Stars' belongs exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of this very storyline.  
The ideas put forward to the creation of 'A Sky Full of Stars' belong exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very ideas.**_

_**I, xXxCometxXx, do not own Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any individuals of Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any of the individuals of Beyblade auto biographies.  
I do not claim possession of any of the original storyline of Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any of the ideas put forward in the creation of Beyblade.**_

_**Any who do so choose to plagiarise, copy or steal will in due course be struck off my Favourite Author's list if you do so exist on that very page. Any continuation to carry out the acts to plagiarise, copy and steal after warning will in due course be reported to the site FanFiction for an act felony.**_

_**If you wish to make a review and/or recommend my persons elsewhere, it is asked that you please do so with constructive advice for reviewing the work of xXxCometxXx and/or to ask my express permission to recommending the person of xXxCometxXx elsewhere other than the site of FanFiction.**_

_**Please read all of the above with due caution.**_

_**Thank you for your co-operation.**_

* * *

It was a sunny May day in Bakuten, and it had since been nearly three years after the Justice 5 tournament. Slowly, the BBA and the city had rebuilt itself with the support of Mr Dickenson, the beybladers and the public – now the place was somewhat back to normal and everyone was living comfortably in the hope that trouble wouldn't be coming round again for a good while to come.

An 18 year old male whistled happily to himself as he walked down the street towards his home, grocery bags held in each hand as he looked about his surroundings. He could see kids playing with their beyblades in the streets, laughing and giggling with their friends – this made him smile: it was good to see that children were now back to playing the sport they loved without making anyone feel left out or not good enough, just like how it should be.

"Grandpa, I'm home!" Tyson called as he entered the dojo, kicking off his shoes as he went. Grandpa Granger came through with a smile as he spotted his youngest grandson walk through the door.

"Hey T-man, cheers for those groceries! Hiro and ya Dad have just got here as well – hey, you two! Tyson's back!" The old man called to the other room. The navy haired teen heard a quick shuffle of feet as he waited, a broad grin forming on his face when his older brother and father came bounding through the door.

"Dad! Hiro! Man, I've missed you guys!" The Dragon blader exclaimed as he was enveloped in a group hug, the three of them laughing out loud before releasing each other. Apart from being with his good friends, nothing in his opinion could beat spending time with his family, especially as his big brother and his father were often away on business or working so they didn't always get the time that they wanted to spend together.

"Oh I've missed you too Tyson – and look at you, you're almost as tall as your brother now!" Bruce Granger smiled proudly when they all left the embrace, he then looking upon his two sons with a mixture of joy and sadness to see that again, whilst he had been away, they had grown up without him – not that it was by choice. But he knew deep down that especially where his navy haired boy was concerned, he had missed out quite in his life. And now he knew was the time to make it up to him properly.

He made a mental note to make sure to ask his boss to give him work nearer to home next time…and maybe give him slightly longer holidays. Seeing the way his father was looking at him with a slight sparkle of tears in his eyes, the Japanese Beyblade World Champion grinned and went over to pat his old man on the shoulder.

"Aw, c'mon Dad! You're not gonna start crying are you? We're all here now and we've got each other, and that's what matters." He declared happily, his older brother smiling and nodding in agreement as the Granger father chuckled and wiped his eyes.

"You're right, son. And from now, I'll do my best to spend more time with you both – it gets too long each time and I want to be with my boys."

The three men stood apart for a moment, staring at each other before smiling amongst themselves – it may have been a long road to this point in their families, before they were suddenly interrupted by the phone ringing from the kitchen, which Grandpa Granger picked up promptly and greeted the caller with his usual cheery old self. Recognising who was on the phone once he had answered, he smiled and held the phone away from his mouth a moment before calling out to his youngest grandchild in the dojo.

"Yo T-Man! Got ya old Mr Dickenson on the phone here – he wants a word with ya!"

"Cheers Gramps!" Tyson called back, rushing away from his father and older brother to take the cordless phone from Grandpa Granger's awaiting hand and then said, "Hey Mr D! What's up?"

"Well hello Tyson! I have some very exciting news: there's going to be a new tournament and I have just finished speaking to the rest of the Bladebreakers - they all want to regroup as team again and I am rather assuming that you would like to as well?" Mr Dickenson's jolly voice rang down the phone, the news that he had just relayed bringing a massive grin to the navy haired male's face.

"Hell yeah, that is awesome! When are they coming?" He replied excitedly, gripping the closer to his ear to hear the old BBA chairman laughing whilst Hiro and Bruce stood nearby, waiting for the youngest Granger to tell them the good news.

"Max, Daichi, Ray and Kai have made their travel arrangements today so I imagine they'll be with you in the next couple of days - I'll leave it to them to let you know. Kenny and Hilary have been notified as well. Apart from that, I wish you all very well and I will arrange a meeting when you are all reunited to give you the tournament plans - take care Tyson!"

"Thank you so much Mr D! See you soon!" The Japanese Beyblade World Champion bid the senior a quick farewell before ending the call and turning to his family, barely able to stop himself from bouncing on his toes.

"There's going to be another tournament!"

Grins lighting up the room, the father and two brothers hugged each other once again, laughing and cheering as Grandpa Granger stood to one side, shaking his head with a proud smile on his face.

"Tyson!"

The Granger family snapped round to see Kenny and Hilary bounding through the door: the computer whiz of the Bladebreakers had grown quite a bit taller since the last two years, though not as tall as the rest of his guy mates, looking more like his age. Hilary was pretty much her same usual self, though now looking more like the 18 year old woman she had become, with slightly more developed cheek bones and glossy brown hair fashioned into a long styled ponytail.

Breaking free from the family embrace, Tyson ran to them and gathered his two best friends in his arms, the three of them huddling tight together.

"Another tournament - I can't believe it: three years later and we're finally having another one!" The Chief exclaimed, the other two laughing out loud at his response - it seems that his confidence had grown a lot along with his height as well; it hadn't been very usual for him to make his remarks with such volume as they grown up in their teenage years!

"This is definitely gonna be the best one yet - I'm gonna have to make an even better training schedule this time!" The female Bladebreaker said teasingly, smirking when she saw the navy haired male next to her roll his eyes, though still hugging her tightly to his side and rubbing her arm fondly.

"Oh I have no doubt that you will, Hils: just make sure there's plenty of time for eating and sleeping, will ya?" He replied, ducking when she went to slap him. Everyone else around them started chuckling as they went off on one of their usual rants at each other - especially Bruce, who looked at his youngest son and the feisty woman opposite him, thinking how much they were like him and his wife when she was still alive. _A little married couple,_ He thought with amusement.

Though he wasn't the only one who had the same idea, judging by the way the spectators all then looked at each other with a mutual stare of understanding. Looks like the rest of the Bladebreaker boys had the same old Tyson vs. Hilary moments to look forward to when they arrived…

* * *

"TYSOOOON!"

Hilary's screech had rendered Max and Daichi to snicker quietly between themselves whilst Ray and Kai merely stared at her in amazement - how could she still be so _shrill_ after all these years, they could never work out. Kenny gave a sheepish smile as he turned towards the rest of the team, leaving the two Japanese youths to yell at each other in peace.

"I guess this is one thing you won't have missed." He said jokingly, though deep down he, like the rest of them, knew that the team wouldn't be the same without those two being stubborn and willing to call each other up on anything that annoyed them. If anything, it provided some entertainment - though there was a time and a place for these arguments. In the middle of a busy airport where people were in full view of everything that happened between them was not one of those moments.

"At least we know it's normal. I'd definitely wonder if the apocalypse has arrived if those two ever stop arguing." The blond American stated with a grin, the White Tiger blader nodding wryly in agreement.

The bluenette Russian sighed heavily and mumbled, "Only you would say that - hoping for peace and quiet from those two is something of a miracle for everyone else."

A typical response from the lone-wolf of the group, but like the Turtle blader said, it was like normal and life would seem very strange if that wasn't the case. Just as the only female Bladebreaker went to slap the Japanese World Champion around the face, a chuckle came from one side of them and stopped the pair in their tracks.

"I see some things never change, hm?"

Everyone turned to see Mr Dickenson, along with an embarrassed looking Grandpa Granger, stood nearby with a rueful smile on his face. All but the Phoenix blader exclaimed with delight before rushing to encircle the elder, clearly very pleased to see him, especially as most of them had not seen him for at least a year.

"I can't believe you finally get to host another tournament, Mr D! I can't wait to kick some beyblade-butt when I get in that arena!" Daichi, although now entering his later teen years at the tender age of 15, still managed to deliver his speech with a relentless energy and bombast that overtook Tyson's by a longshot now that the rest of the Bladebreakers were virtually adults with responsibilities and lives of their own aside from the beyblading.

Though the rest of the group merely shook their heads and smiled, knowing deep down that they would be grateful in the end that someone still managed to give out enthusiasm without it being tainted by 'grown-up' perspectives that had made them far older and mature in their nature in just the few years gone by alone.

"I am sure you will, Daichi. But for now, we do have some things that need to be arranged concerning a couple of changes to the team, which I mention to you all when I went through some of the plans prior to today. Now let us proceed before Hilary and Tyson tire themselves with each other's company even more." The old BBA chairman stated pleasantly, yet his eyes sparkled mischievously as the rest of the team aside from the mentioned members supressed their laughter and walked swiftly past with him, leaving the couple to fume silently at each other from behind.

Soon, everyone reached the BBA HQ in their taxis and quickly sidled out with their bags to enter the building with Mr Dickenson leading them. It was noted the group of youths that the usually bubbly old gentleman was looking a rather lot more frail now; if the lack of energy in his step wasn't an indicator, it was also the way he constantly leaned on his cane for support, unable to conceal the fact that walking was now becoming far more difficult with the tiredness that constantly plagued him in his old age.

_What would happen to the BBA if Mr D…_Most of the team didn't begin to even think of finishing the thought - a world without the kindness and the generosity of elderly man who was very much like a second grandfather to them all. Even the amethyst eyed Hiwatari didn't like the unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach when thinking about possibly having to live without the one of few people in his life who gave him the proper opportunities and the chances to make a good life.

"Ah yes thank you, I will take them up to my office to meet her. Thank you again." The BBA chairman smiled at his secretary, looking over his shoulder and indicating for the group of youths to follow him. Soon they all reached his office and the elderly man opened the door, beaming broadly when he saw who was inside.

"Anna, my dear! How lovely to see you."

Whilst everyone else merely looked on in astonishment to find another unknown guest joining them, Kai felt his heart freeze when he met the stare of familiar cold blue eyes.

* * *

_**xXxCometxXx:** Well hello everyone - long time no see ~_^ I am so sorry it has been a long while since I last updated, and now as you may be surprised to see, I am completely re-writing this story again: I felt that there were some bits that needed changing still and so I have now put out this revised and hopefully far more improved version - please note that some chapters will still be similar to the old one and the storyline will be similar as well, but other than that, please read and hopefully enjoy this one :D Let me know what you think of this; any feedback, either by commenting, favouriting, following or even PMing me, is greatly appreciated! Stay tuned for future chapters peeps, and peace out for now =) Cheers!_


	2. Afraid of Moving Mountains

_**The following said story 'A Sky Full of Stars' is strictly property of xXxCometxXx©.**_

_**The additional individuals of the persons Annastacia Samogon, Rachel Smith, Rebecca Howard, Elaina Dela Vega, Stephanie Banks, Kathryn Capulet, Abigail Wise, Natasha Tolland, Ophelia Samogon and Thomas Samogon belong exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very characters.**_

_**The additional individuals of the persons Annastacia Samogon, Rachel Smith, Rebecca Howard, Elaina Dela Vega, Stephanie Banks, Kathryn Capulet, Abigail Wise, Natasha Tolland, Ophelia Samogon and Thomas Samogon's auto biographies exclusively belong to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very characters auto biographies.**_

_**The storyline of the story 'A Sky Full of Stars' belongs exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of this very storyline.  
The ideas put forward to the creation of 'A Sky Full of Stars' belong exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very ideas.**_

_**I, xXxCometxXx, do not own Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any individuals of Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any of the individuals of Beyblade auto biographies.  
I do not claim possession of any of the original storyline of Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any of the ideas put forward in the creation of Beyblade.**_

_**Any who do so choose to plagiarise, copy or steal will in due course be struck off my Favourite Author's list if you do so exist on that very page. Any continuation to carry out the acts to plagiarise, copy and steal after warning will in due course be reported to the site FanFiction for an act felony.**_

_**If you wish to make a review and/or recommend my persons elsewhere, it is asked that you please do so with constructive advice for reviewing the work of xXxCometxXx and/or to ask my express permission to recommending the person of xXxCometxXx elsewhere other than the site of FanFiction.**_

_**Please read all of the above with due caution.**_

_**Thank you for your co-operation.**_

* * *

The girl who had been informally addressed as 'Anna' was stood to the far end of the office. She had thought the meeting the elder man had called her to would be isolated to being between the two of them, though judging by the way the new arrivals all walked together through the door, she was wrong.

But what shocked her even more was the appearance of a face that she had not seen in the flesh for quite a few years.

Kai.

_And how quaint - looks like the friendship brigade will be party to this little 'reunion' too,_ she thought as something of a snarl began to form on her face. The fellow youngsters now began to stare at her in a somewhat intimidated fashion, but then she couldn't say that was unusual when people first met her. It had been mentioned plenty of times that where she lacked emotional expression, the blank look she had was her 'fuck off' face.

Meanwhile, Kai felt trapped. She was looking at him, the blue of her eyes pushing through barriers that even his team mates had come nowhere even near to scratching.

"Now Bladebreakers, I would like you to meet Annastacia Samogon. And Anna, I would like you to meet the Bladebreakers: Tyson, Max, Ray, Daichi, Hilary and Kenny - we also here have Tyson's grandfather." Mr Dickenson promptly introduced those who were strangers to each other, seeming to be either deliberately ignorant or totally to oblivious to the silently building tension between the two eldest youths in the room.

Anna almost had to laugh at the way the old man had subtly missed out 'introducing' her to Kai. Maybe he hadn't forgotten to be discreet.

"How lovely," Anna stated dryly, unable to find the will or the energy to be polite, "So tell me, Mr Dickenson, what exactly are we going to be discussing in this meeting? I didn't think the Bladebreakers took any interest in official matters. Who is they leave it to again? Hiro Granger?"

_Typical Anna,_ Kai thought. Even as young girl, she was quick to tackle an opposition. And to this day, it never failed to piss him off. The way she would first stab the needle in, letting it niggle. All the while, she would be cool and exceptionally collected.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tyson suddenly spoke up angrily, unable to contain himself as the rest of the team attempted to shush him back into line. Meeting his now fired up brown eyes, Anna raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"Remind me exactly what position it is you hold in the team again?"

Kai couldn't resist smirking a little. It was about high and time that someone other than he had come along to smack Tyson down a couple of notches - even the rest of the Bladebreakers couldn't come up with a retort good enough to make her back down.

Seeing that this meeting was heading a route that was not quite appropriate to host in a purely business prospective, Mr Dickenson coughed slightly and promptly said, "Shall we proceed to the meetings room?"

Taking in the senior's warning look, Anna then nodded respectfully and followed the BBA chairman, the Bladebreakers and Grandpa Granger close in tow as they walked down the corridor. Once they reached the meeting area, the new female on the scene sat promptly across from the World Champions. Mr Dickenson sat gently beside her in contrast.

"Now you all know that I like to be surprise you all with upcoming plans for each tournament, so this year hopefully shall not be much different. Though before we proceed with those details, I have an announcement to make," He paused and took a breath before delivering the news, "I am retiring as Chairman of the BBA."

Every other guest present gaped at him, not quite believing that what they had feared for a few years now was coming true. Even Anna, who had not beybladed in championships and so forth for a long time, couldn't suppress a profound sense of loss inside her. What would happen if he left? Where would he go and what would he do? Would she still be able to see him? After all, if anyone had made the most time for her despite her dark past and her cold ways, Mr Dickenson was the man who had supported her undoubtedly and unendingly all the way.

"Re-re-retiring? You're leaving us, Mr Dickenson?" Kenny stuttered, pretty much saying it for the youngsters. Of course they knew that he needed his retirement someday soon, and that he probably was yearning for a quiet time to settle down with his family. But it just wouldn't be same without him. How could it?

Mr Dickenson merely laughed good naturedly however at Anna and the Bladebreaker's reactions, his smile bright despite wiping his eyes for what looked like the beginning of tears in his eyes.

"Oh my dear Kenny, of course I would never leave you kids! But I have reached my time and I feel that it's time to let someone younger and stronger do the job. But rest assured, I will be there still, in a way." He said.

The group of youths looked amongst each other with relief at the reassurance. Anna on the other hand frowned slightly. She couldn't help feeling suspicious that maybe there was another reason that Mr Dickenson was looking to resign so quickly from the BBA. She certainly didn't like the notion of him 'reaching his time'. But until she could corner him alone, she swallowed her questions.

"So what's the surprise for the tournament, Mr D?" Tyson asked with cheerfulness, trying to lighten up the mood for the old man's sake.

"Ah, well, this is why I have asked Anna to come here as it would need her permission to let the tournament go forward," Mr Dickenson then turned to the said brunette, whose eyebrows had furrowed in with another load of questions sitting there in her eyes, "What would be your verdict if I were to ask you host the tournament at your home stadium in England, my dear?"

The Bladebreakers gasped and murmured with excitement - a tournament in England? They had only ever been once during their escapades of the first World Championships they participated in as a team. But they had thoroughly enjoyed their travels there, so it only felt very appropriate that they would get to compete.

If, obviously, Miss Samogon agreed.

And already Anna's clever mind was calculating quickly. It had been her initial thought to refuse. She wasn't very trusting of strangers, the Bladebreakers especially so as they posed as rivals. But she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing that she saw them as competition. In fact, she began to think she would rather enjoy having them under her roof so she could keep an eye on them. Especially where Kai was concerned.

The past they shared would not be discovered and she was determined to make sure that in her own quiet way, she would reconcile herself to the new life he had chosen. Away from her.

"What are the conditions?" Anna answered, staying polite for now. After all, its said to be easier to catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Even if the honey is slightly off.

"Well I don't think we'll be doing a tag team tournament again for a while, so I was thinking that we have the international teams compete against each other…but with a little twist, of course." Mr Dickenson's eyes twinkled with mischief as he stared into the narrowed blue ones of the female sat next to him.

"And that twist being?"

"Each team must choose a member to swap with another chosen blader from an opposing team."

There was a dumb silence from the Bladebreakers, whilst Anna merely raised an eyebrow. Now this was certainly an interesting prospect, she thought. every team would have the opportunity to play this tournament to their advantage by choosing their player wisely, so this would be a case of outsmarting the rest of the teams to get furthest ahead.

Her only worry was that the only person who could match her for brains and possibly thwart her cunnings was sat opposite her, glaring defensively in her direction. _No, I can't choose one of the five who blade - that would be too obvious. I need to choose someone else, someone who they would least expect…_

Anna's cold eyes then fell on Hilary.

"Have the documents, legalities and so forth sent to my office, Mr Dickenson. We have a lot of work to do planning this…tournament." She finally replied, her lip curling in a furtive manner as she stood up from the table.

"Alright, yeah! Thanks Anna - I can't wait to have a match with you." Tyson exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air as Grandpa Granger, Mr Dickenson and his friends around him laughed and patted him to calm down.

Anna did not smile. This was purely business and she was not about to get involved with any of the Bladebreakers.

"I won't be participating."

Everyone else immediately stopped talking amongst themselves and turned to stare at Anna in disbelief:

**Did she just refuse a beyblade match?**

Kai could feel his blood beginning to boil. A time ago she would've accepted the challenge, whether the opponent had high calibre or not. Because if there was one thing he had always admired in her, it had been her ability to be completely fair and to give anyone the chance.

But not this time.

She didn't care for the competition anymore, she had no interest or care in anyone other than those who had stayed with her long enough to know why she was the way she had become. If someone wanted to provoke her, they would have to do a lot better than that to rouse her spirit.

"Scared?" Kai finally challenged Anna, not caring that his response the most inflammatory that he could come up with. There was no way he was letting her get away with this. If she thought she could simply walk into his life and walk out of it again without picking up where they left off, she had another thing coming.

Anna felt her eyebrow twitch as she looked at her opponent with menacing eyes.

"Not in the slightest. Whilst I would take great pleasure in defeating the 'World Champion' here, I hardly have the tolerance to deal with the bad press I would get for humiliating him so profoundly, which you know I would. Still want to convince me that joining the tournament would be a benefit for anyone here?" She replied icily, her voice now low and edging on something venomous.

The atmosphere was brought to a point that it was stifling everyone on an unbearable degree. All they knew was that if the situation got wound up even more, they couldn't help feeling that someone would be walking away with either an injury or a serious cavity to the ego.

Seeing that her presence was no longer needed, Anna simply raised her chin defiantly and turned on her heel, leaving the room without another word or farewell as the door slamming harder than she intended behind her.

Kai watched her go and couldn't suppress his anger any longer. After all these years, she was now back and she could still rile him a way that no other person could. But she was harder, colder. And he couldn't bear with the thought that the beginning of her turning into this distant young woman was more than probably his fault.

Leaping from his seat, the Phoenix blader stormed out after her, ignoring his team mates and Mr Dickenson calling after him frantically to come back. There was only one way to deal with this and that was to corner her for an answer - the two of them may have changed, but they knew each other better than anyone. She wouldn't respond passively to being cornered.

"_**Get back here.**_"

Now Anna was not one to be frightened or startled so easily by anger, as the very emotion was the only really prevalent one that ran through her veins the most. But upon hearing those words delivered in a tone that guaranteed the possibility that she was going to be forced up against a wall, she turned to face the furious young man approaching, ready to fight fire with fire.

"Don't you fucking _dare_ come near me." She threatened, even when he was in her personal space within moments, so close that she could smell him, hear the undeniable hiss in his voice.

"_Who the fucking hell do you think you are?_"

"So what are you going to do now, Kai? Be glad you aren't facing me in this tournament - in fact, you don't deserve to challenge me, let alone to be in my presence. Now _get out of my face_."

Before she could even blink, Anna could feel her back slamming against cold bricks and warm body a paper width away from her. Her warrior instincts kicking in without a second thought, her arm lashed out as fast as an adder would do snatch its prey, and her hand was then curled around the neck in front of her, tight enough to feel the race of a pulse underneath her fingers but not enough to block off the air supply.

"I don't deserve to challenge you?" The young Hiwatari hissed quietly so that no one would hear them. He would've moved to take her hand away from his throat, but his hands were too busy gripping her forearms.

The brunette merely stared back at him stonily, controlling herself as much as she could because she was mere moments away from sending him to the ground and beating the shit out of him. She had taken down men larger than Kai and without injury nor regret. No, physically he did not intimidate her at all.

But he had awakened something she thought she had killed inside of her a long time ago and it was beginning to worry her. She wouldn't give in however; she had Samogon blood in her and a Samogon never backed down, even when the end was inevitable and that was what forced her to remain calm.

"If you want to give me a fight Kai, then you are about to fall short." She smirked, amusement creeping its way into her voice as she looked up at him. She almost let out her laughter when she saw the slightly confused looked on the face of the young male stood in front of her still.

"I have no care for you, nor your petty little team. So save your bullshit for someone who gives a fuck."

Finally letting go of her arms, Kai took her hand away from his throat and let down her wrist gently instead of pushing her further. Whilst he may have found his ability to care somewhat, she had lost hers.

"After all of this – nothing? Perhaps I should call you a coward, Anna."

"Get a fucking grip, Kai. You and I both know this is going nowhere. So stop wasting our time and get back to that precious team of yours."

Kai sighed heavily, taking a step back from her and turning away as he said, "This isn't like you."

For whatever reason she could not think of then, Anna felt something inside her snap as she hissed "And you would know, would you, Kai?"

The Phoenix blader took an unconscious step back as she pushed herself off the wall.

"You think I'm not like me? What about you? What of the person I had known way before those Bladebreakers, hm? Don't fuck with me, you bastard. And don't even think about pushing me further with this fucking tournament – because if you get me involved, I will make sure you will be sorry that you ever met me." Anna spat at him, sparing him one more defiant glare before storming off.

Kai then realised that he had been so blinkered by his own rage in wanting to battle her, both in and out of the beydish, that the thought of her unleashing her wrath wouldn't just be on him, but on his team mates as well. And now the deal was sealed.

"You come near my team and I will destroy you." He stated, now struggling to keep his voice even. Anna stopped in her tracks and let out a dark chuckle.

"Confusing me with your Grandfather? How touching. That you think I would make everyone else suffer for your faults. Well let me tell you something: your little friends are perfectly safe and won't see any harm from me," She paused, her smirk becoming a feral snarl before she turned round to face Kai one more time.

"But if they don't tow the line and cross wrongly into my territory, there's nothing you or Mr Dickenson can do to stop me from doing as I see fit."

Anna took her spiteful blue eyes off him once more before marching off back towards where Mr Dickenson and the Bladebreakers were sat still in the meeting room.

Everyone jumped as she strode into the room, sensing something dangerous under her seemingly calm composure as she approached Mr Dickenson.

"Now you lot listen to me very clearly. I could give a flying fuck about this tournament and quite frankly, I'm not sure why I even said yes to it. But rest assured, if I get any trouble whatsoever that will cause me to regret my decision – you all had better hope your in Japan before I get my hands on you," Anna declared, her gaze jumping to the group of youths who sat nervously in their seats as she addressed them, "Be ready, Bladebreakers."

Smiling cruelly at the way they all swallowed uncomfortably and shifted in their seats, she said or did nothing more and exited the room for the last time, brushing past Kai swiftly before he could stop her and headed straight out the door. It was time to go home.

* * *

**xXxCometxXx: **_Thank you my lovelies for reading the new and improved Chapter 1 for 'A Sky Full of Stars'. Wow I could even feel the tension in my chest writing the mini spat between Kai and Anna - even in my own mind, I'm surprised either didn't clock each other one O.o; _

_Anyhow, stay tuned for more chapters where you will surely see not only the outcome of the new tournament to be, but what happened between the characters as well._

_Cheers folks._


	3. Warning Sign

_**The following said story 'A Sky Full of Stars' is strictly property of xXxCometxXx©.**_

_**The additional individuals of the persons Annastacia Moonshine, Rachel Smith, Rebecca Howard, Elaina Dela Vega, Stephanie Banks, Kathryn Capulet, Abigail Wise, Natasha Tolland, Ophelia Moonshine and Thomas Moonshine belong exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very characters.**_

_**The additional individuals of the persons Annastacia Moonshine, Rachel Smith, Rebecca Howard, Elaina Dela Vega, Stephanie Banks, Kathryn Capulet, Abigail Wise, Natasha Tolland, Ophelia Mooonshine and Thomas Moonshine's auto biographies exclusively belong to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very characters auto biographies.**_

_**The storyline of the story 'A Sky Full of Stars' belongs exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of this very storyline.  
The ideas put forward to the creation of 'A Sky Full of Stars' belong exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very ideas.**_

_**I, xXxCometxXx, do not own Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any individuals of Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any of the individuals of Beyblade auto biographies.  
I do not claim possession of any of the original storyline of Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any of the ideas put forward in the creation of Beyblade.**_

_**Any who do so choose to plagiarise, copy or steal will in due course be struck off my Favourite Author's list if you do so exist on that very page. Any continuation to carry out the acts to plagiarise, copy and steal after warning will in due course be reported to the site FanFiction for an act felony.**_

_**If you wish to make a review and/or recommend my persons elsewhere, it is asked that you please do so with constructive advice for reviewing the work of xXxCometxXx and/or to ask my express permission to recommending the person of xXxCometxXx elsewhere other than the site of FanFiction.**_

_**Please read all of the above with due caution.**_

_**Thank you for your co-operation.**_

* * *

The Bladebreakers were hanging around the park the next day. Despite their questions as to why Kai had gone off after the newcomer, only to come back fuming beyond anything they had ever seen before, they kept their mouths shut.

Kai couldn't shake his mood though. He was still so furious with Anna, so much to the point that he couldn't help snapping at his team mates for the most silly things, because he had nowhere else he could think of to effectively spend his temper.

The only solution? To challenge Anna again. And the next time that would happen, he was determined that it would be done properly – with a beyblade match.

But he knew that the young Samogon would not give in easily. She was an ocean and if she chose, she could drown him. And even if she didn't, he had a long way to go before he could reach the bottom.

In the meantime, the boys were practicing their beyblading skills again in preparation for their travels to the UK. Kenny and Hilary spent their time thoroughly analysing them and what they needed to progress on next. Kai and Tyson were not battling at that current moment and had currently decided to take a break to watch how their team was progressing. Although Tyson, unable to sit down with his endless stream of excitement, begged to referee Max and Ray's match.

On the other hand Kai had taken himself to the side-lines and was now relaxing on the grass, enjoying the September breeze that flew silently across the grass as the colours of emerald, green and yellow rippled along the ground.

"Go Draciel!"

"Go Drigger!"

Both Max and Ray yelled as they commanded their blades to collide with each other at almost full pelt. The IT whiz of the group watched quietly in awe as he recorded the data on his laptop, feeling once again proud of how his mechanical knowledge had paid off, clearly shown in the two Bladebreakers vastly improved movements so far. Now all they had to do was keep up the practice for the next tournament…

Ray's Drigger blade was getting noticeably faster, a great improvement considering that his blade had always been built for speed. Max changed his Draciel's blade stance to a defensive position as he waited for the blow. As the two blades clashed head on, every single member could feel the energy emitted by both blades.

"How's the stats so far Chief?" Tyson asked as he looked over Kenny's shoulder at the laptop recording the ever growing results. He then looked upon every single member of the team and sighed contently. No matter what they had all been through, they were still here and battling strong together. He even looked over at Kai, whose eyes were shut tight, and smiled.

But putting the thoughtfulness aside, the World Champion's more conscious thought was that his stoic team mate could still do with not acting like a grouch for once! Shrugging, Tyson turned back to the small brown haired boy sat down below him, who started to explain as he pointed to the screen.

"Well as ever, Max's defence is improving and so is Ray's speed. I think we still need to try to get everyone to work on mastering all sorts of techniques and strategies; for example Max should try more offensive tactics and Ray should try to work on more defensive tactics."

"TYSON! Where's my sandwich, you pig? I was gonna eat that!" Daichi suddenly screeched at the navy haired teen, face going puce with anger as he rammed the empty lunchbox into his team mate's face. Good mood suddenly disappearing, Tyson gave an irritated cry as he tried to push Daichi away from whilst avoided arms waving around manically.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIG?! YOU HAD YOUR SANDWICH EARLIER!"

Hilary gave a heavy sigh and muttered something along the lines of 'Here we go again…' as the two loudest members of the group began to bicker over food – always the topic of conflict when it came to these two always hungry boys.

Kai in the meantime decided that he wanted to go for a walk. For once though, it was not because he found the squabbling tiresome or the presence of his team mates too suffocating. He was years past that now. This time he wanted to walk because there was someone else on his mind who was still bugging him.

Getting up from his spot, he looked over to Hilary manager and nodded at her before striding off steadily to the BBA HQ. He smiled slightly when out of the corner of his eye his team mates waved him goodbye. Unusual, seeing as they used to harangue him for answers as to where he was going. But to their credit, they were giving him the space he needed considering how he had lost his temper yesterday and could still it festering even now.

* * *

After about half an hour or so of walking, Kai finally reached his destination and promptly went through the doors to approach the local secretary, who looked up and gave him a familiar smile when she saw the youth.

"Hello, Mr Hiwatari. Here to see Mr Dickenson?" She said, putting out her hand ready to pick up the phone to call him upstairs. Shaking his head, Kai leaned towards the desk so that he could talk to her quietly without too many other people listening in.

"I'm looking for Annastacia Samogon. Are you able to find her for me?"

"How about I save you the trouble of looking?"

Turning around, there behind him was none other than Anna, sat on the sofas in the lobby as though she had been expecting him. She looked less formal than she did yesterday, he noted, clad in a pair of tight jeans that hung low on her hips covered by a pair of boots, a tank top with a leather jacket and a beanie hat covered up her wild hair.

_Still quite the tomboy_, Kai thought as he remembered the times when Anna used to wear baggy clothes and refused to wear anything that was remotely feminine or lady-like. If anyone even thought of it, they were subject to her cold blue eyed glare and this she would do with him smirking behind her in amusement.

Those were the few easiest parts of the day, if they were lucky in their childhood.

The young Samogon got up from the sofa and walked towards him slowly.

"Walk with me."

Just from her voice alone, Kai could tell that it had taken a lot of energy and squashing her pride for her to come here to talk to him calmly. Still, he answered her with a nod and both then exited the building together, though keeping a careful distance between them.

"Ah, the trials and tribulations of love." Mr Dickenson appeared out of the shadows, smiling at his confused looking secretary.

"Love, sir? They quarrel so violently - at least that was what everyone in the staff room was saying from yesterday. One even said that they seemed to hate each other."

"Don't they also say that love and hate is a very fine line?" He replied with a slight twinkle in his eye as he chuckled, "We shall see. But I have a feeling that even our two most proudest beybladers can't deny that they are in need of a friend. One who who simply needs to know and not always striving to understand."

Exchanging a knowing look between one another, Mr Dickenson and the young woman went back to their work in silence, expecting that sooner or later his words will most certainly come true.

* * *

The two Russians walked together silently for a while, just as how they had used to walk together. Neither needed to direct one another to where they wanted to go. Neither needed to say a word as they moved together through the streets of Bakuten. Their steps were almost synchronised as they headed towards the more secluded part of town.

"If we were friends still, I wouldn't mind you reading me like a book. But now you're beginning to piss me off." Kai asked bluntly, feeling far too tense to try and put up a front.

Anna felt her lips pursing off their own accord, not even sure herself what it was that told her he would come back to find her today. She knew that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about what she had said to him, because she hadn't been able to stop thinking about what he said to her either.

"You're always pissed off anyway. I've just given you an excuse, amongst many others I'm sure you hold against me for knowing you well." She replied coldly, walking up the steps that lead them up to the public telescopes that looked out to the sea. Kai remained silent as they got to the fence and leant on it, knowing that her words were true but that there were no words to answer or counter it.

Anna sighed heavily as she rubbed her eyes.

"What you did was bullshit."

Kai looked at her sharply.

"Its one thing for you to just waltz back into my life like what we had never actually meant anything to you. But to then call me out on not wanting to face you and your petty little team?" She shook her head and unconsciously rubbing her fingers.

"I never intended for anything between us to come to this." Kai stated, no trace of feeling or emotion in his tone as he continued to gaze out at the blue waters sparkling underneath the midday sun.

"Like hell you did, Kai. Its always number one with you. And you know what? That's not even why you piss me off so much."

Anna turned from where she was leaning on the fence to look at him.

"You preach and practice about honour. About justice. About being **fair**. Yet the people and the things you always said were most important to you, don't even get spared those considerations."

"If you're here to whine about how I hurt you, go ahead. I know what I did and I don't need you to remind me of my fuck ups."

Anna's stare was then met with his dark amethyst eyes, now shrouded with something far deeper that she couldn't even begin to dare to name.

"I may have chosen to go, and maybe I did choose to live under my Grandfather for a while. But I did what was best for both us at the time, Anna."

Anna shook her head, closing her eyes tight to make sure that she could stay in control this time. If anyone was going to walk off from now on, it would be her. She was not going to go through him leaving her a second time.

Wishing that the lump now lodged in her throat would go so that she could speak to him clearly, she leant her back against the rails whilst saying, "You know what, I'm wasting my time."

She then pushed herself away from the rails and scuffed the ground with her boot before saying, "And don't even think of trying again to persuade me to participate in this tournament."

Kai felt his eyebrow twitch as he looked round and frowned at her.

"You're not leaving until I get what I came for."

"What, you think I'll give you a beyblade match? You've got another thing coming if you think I'm going to let that happen. If you've got something to prove or feel guilty about, go find someone who is interested."

Turning on her heel, Anna walked off. When she reached the steps, she looked at Kai one last time and said, "This is not about revenge or forgiveness, Kai. Whatever you want to settle should've been done a long time ago. What we were, what we could have had if you had stayed – its gone. **Its over. **So stop being chased by ghosts and get this tournament over with so we can both have each other out of our lives for good."

Completely left lost for words, Kai watched Anna sweep away from the scene with not a single trace of regret in her step. He wanted to run after her and mercilessly demand for beybattle until she caved in. He wanted to prove to her that when it came to their relationship, she would not be the one to walk away.

But then he remembered that they had no relationship to speak of.

Deciding that for now he would keep an eye on her, Kai stormed off in the direction of the BBA HQ. He was not waiting until the tournament began to find out where she had been and what she had done since he had left her years ago.

* * *

**xXxCometxXx: **Third draft of this chapter, completed and please, please, please, let this be the final version...!

Pheeeeeeeww! Wow, even as the writer and creator of this piece, I'm surprised at the amount of tension I'm feeling from writing this chapter. Its created this way for all intents and purposes, I assure you, my lovely readers. And hopefully you will see more of it as the chapters continue towards the new tournament.

All feedback appreciated as ever folks.

Cheers =)


	4. Say Something

_**The following said story 'A Sky Full of Stars' is strictly property of xXxCometxXx©.**_

_**The additional individuals of the persons Annastacia Samogon, Rachel Smith, Rebecca Howard, Elaina Dela Vega, Stephanie Banks, Kathryn Capulet, Abigail Wise, Natasha Tolland, Ophelia Samogon and Thomas Samogon belong exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very characters.**_

_**The additional individuals of the persons Annastacia Samogon, Rachel Smith, Rebecca Howard, Elaina Dela Vega, Stephanie Banks, Kathryn Capulet, Abigail Wise, Natasha Tolland, Ophelia Samogon and Thomas Samogon's auto biographies exclusively belong to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very characters auto biographies.**_

_**The storyline of the story 'A Sky Full of Stars' belongs exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of this very storyline.  
The ideas put forward to the creation of 'A Sky Full of Stars' belong exclusively to xXxCometxXx: creator and publisher of these very ideas.**_

_**I, xXxCometxXx, do not own Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any individuals of Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any of the individuals of Beyblade auto biographies.  
I do not claim possession of any of the original storyline of Beyblade.  
I do not claim possession of any of the ideas put forward in the creation of Beyblade.**_

_**Any who do so choose to plagiarise, copy or steal will in due course be struck off my Favourite Author's list if you do so exist on that very page. Any continuation to carry out the acts to plagiarise, copy and steal after warning will in due course be reported to the site FanFiction for an act felony.**_

_**If you wish to make a review and/or recommend my persons elsewhere, it is asked that you please do so with constructive advice for reviewing the work of xXxCometxXx and/or to ask my express permission to recommending the person of xXxCometxXx elsewhere other than the site of FanFiction.**_

_**Please read all of the above with due caution.**_

_**Thank you for your co-operation.**_

* * *

_Waking up, Anna was lying in snow. Above her was a light grey sky, and white snowflakes were falling towards her as her eyelids fluttered gently. Winter. She could hear singing very softly in the back ground, ringing across the atmosphere in an echo._

_**The air is cold,  
You can't remember what you've been told...**_

Those words..._She knew them well. Her mother had been a writer of songs and poems - sometimes in the distant part of her childhood memories, she could remember her mother singing to her._

_She sat up carefully and looked around her - everything was white, save for a few trees standing bare black against the bitter cold. She guessed that she was in somewhere like Russia, and she couldn't have been more than 9 years old. In the distance amongst the trees she saw someone step out from behind a bulky tree trunk. She blinked._

_It was Kai. Looking at her with waiting eyes as his hand rested gently against the rough bark of the tree. He didn't say anything, except that with his dark playful eyes he was calling her. Anna looked at him properly: he looked so much younger - a child just she was._

_Getting up, Anna brushed off the snow that stuck to her legs and stood for a moment. He was still waiting for her. She took a step forward - then another - then another - and soon she was walking towards him with confidence, suppressing a grin of delight as she came closer. Though in the back of her mind, she was wondering how they got to where they were, and why. _

_Just as she approached him, Kai's face broke into a smile as he turned and ran off into the trees._

_Anna too smiled and ran off to chase him. One thing that they always loved as children was the snow, and Russia - where they had grown up for the first half of their childhood - had plenty of it. They loved playing in it; whenever they had spare time, the pair would be spending hours in the outdoors, away from the troubles that tied them to what they thought should have been their home._

_As their young legs pounded through the snow, the two laughed as they ran. For once they were together. _

_All alone._

_A blissful oblivion that was just too precious to break. Soon they reached a clearing and the sun began to shine brilliantly above them, catching the dazzling white of the frost ground beneath their feet._

_Slowly they moved towards one another, stop a couple of feet away from each other. In a teasing manner, Kai bowed and held his hand out to Anna, who played along and curtsied back before taking his hand. They held hands, as they danced together, never taking their eyes off each other as they spun and twirled and dipped as though they were time. _

_Kai then stopped and let go of Anna's hands, watching her a moment as she was still smiling and laughing whilst moving gracefully across the snow. Finally, she did one last spin on the spot, holding her hands out as though she would move the snowflakes on the wind to her will - in that moment, she was young, she was beautiful and she was free. _

_She came to a stop and looked at Kai, her smile slowly fading when she saw his face no longer bright and happy as hers had been. The sun began disappear behind a blanket of grey cloud and she felt her heart speed up slightly with confusion, not understanding why he was looking at her so blankly._

"_Kai?" She murmured, walking towards him slowly and reaching out a hand to touch his face when she came within inches of his person. Kai stopped her, placing a finger on her lips. Anna looked at him. Puzzled summed up her expression and he looked as though he wouldn't say or do anything to ease the questions that sprung in her mind._

_Instead, he gently released her and started walking away from her, his trademark scarf floating gently behind him as he went._

_Still none the wiser, Anna followed him into the trees. But as soon as she stepped around the black tree that he had walked around, she saw that he had disappeared without a trace. Heart now in her mouth, she began weaving in and out of them as fast as she could, trying to find him. Desperation overtook her as each way she turned there was no sign on him. No footprints, no trace. Where was he? How could he have just disappeared without a word or sign?_

_On she went, running through the snow with all the power she could muster. But the more she ran, the more she felt her heart beginning to fail: with each bit of warmth slipping away from her soul, her eyes started to sting and her hands were going numb with cold. The bitter chill was beginning to enter her and never had she felt more afraid. She had lost her best friend – once again slipped through her fingers._

_As she exited the cluster of trees into an open land of snow, something inside her failed. No longer did she care where Kai had gone, or what would happen to her if she stayed there. _

_Annastacia Samogon was alone. _

_Her vision blurred and before she could stop herself, she felt her legs give way. Softly falling into the snow, Anna lay there staring up at the sky._

_Snow started to fall again. When the first one fell, so did a tear from her blue eyes. As more continued to float gently to the ground, she felt more tears slide down past her cheekbones and off her face to the ground, melting the snow in their wake. They were so hot and fast that they could've burned her._

_Slowly she felt darkness in her world closing in. And then she heard voices - faint, distorted chords of sound in her mind that she could not ignore, even when at that moment, she wanted to sleep. And never wake up again._

"**…**_**Nothing but trouble…"**_

_I'd happily be lost, dreaming,  
If you don't tell me my freedom is earned…_

"**…**_**Why is she so emotionless…"**_

_Shake my world in all directions if you want,  
It might be a fragile snow globe…_

"**…**_**Can't you ever get anything right…"**_

_But it has to shatter.  
Don't think you're the first…_

"**…**_**Help me Anna…"**_

_What do you expect from me?  
If I could give you a sun and mood unified…_

"**…**_**It's not your fault…"**_

_Maybe I might have done. Once upon a time.  
Why hypocrisy is fashionable as puppet strings…_

"**…**_**A child no more…"**_

_You're complaining about how heavy I am,  
And all you have to do is cut them…_

"**…**_**Hold on…"**_

_You won't do it, though.  
But it's okay, it always is: that's why I have wings…_

"**…**_**You've never needed permission to be what you are…"**_

_I was never yours even when I needed to belong -  
In my own place where you will never find me…_

"**…**_**Always alone…never needing anyone…"**_

_So don't try to see where,  
Search for it with me…_

"**…**_**Only the strongest survive…"**_

_How can you  
heal me when it was -  
you  
who put the gaping -  
hole  
in the hollow of my -  
heart…_

"**…**_**Who would want you…"**_

_Don't try to  
tell me you are -  
sorry  
there is nothing to -  
forgive  
when you were let in by -  
me…_

"…_**I won't give up on you…"**_

_Let me fix myself  
I can only be -  
stronger  
when I find a way to be -  
better  
and set my demons -  
free…_

"_**…Fate gives us opportunities…We make the choices…**__"_

_Goodbye my love, my heart, my dear,  
I will try to remember your sweet words…_

"**…I don't want you to follow me**_**…"**_

_You are there and I am here,  
Smiling sadly up into unknown galaxies…_

"**…**_**The air is cold…You can't remember what you've been told…"**_

_Wondering if, wondering how,  
Wondering when we will meet again…_

* * *

Anna woke with a start as she felt the plane rumble, descending rapidly towards ground as she wiped the sweat off her forehead from the vivid dream that had played out in her mind.

"We'll be reaching ground in about ten minutes, Miss Samogon." A fresh, young looking air steward (who the blue eyed tomboy had momentarily forgotten the name) said gently as he approached, the seat belt sign above the seat lighting up on cue and the ding of the bell sounding.

Nodding, Anna dismissed the man and tightened the buckle of her belt tighter than it already was, her head softly hitting the back of her seat whilst she blew the deep breath she had taken heavily out of her nose.

She was used to having dreams like that. They often seemed very real, and when she would wake, she could almost swear that she could feel the traces of them still lingering in the air next to her. Most either foretold the future, _déjà vus_ so to speak, or brought up snippets of fragmented memories that merged together to become a vision so overwhelming that it made her almost frightened to sleep.

Whatever they were, she kept them completely and wholly to herself and when they occurred, she squashed them back to the darker depths of her mind until she was ready to address them. Though more often than not, she refused to acknowledge that they existed. She did not want to be slave and victim to her own mind.

Anna looked out of the window as the plane dropped gradually through the clouds, revealing the bright green fields of English countryside below. Although she had seen some rare and extraordinary places in the world, it was places like the United Kingdom and Ireland that seemed to possess an odd beauty that felt right and tranquil in her eyes. Yet even though she lived in those places, they weren't home.

Nowhere in the world had ever been home to her for years. Not at least in the vast expanse of her memory.

When the plane came to a stop, she waited a moment before unbuckling her belt. She reached above into the hold to grab her bags, ignoring the steward standing awkwardly behind her when he had made an attempt to come over and assist her. She then pushed past the man and headed for the cockpit where the pilot was sat adjusting all of the controls.

"Say hello to Marie and the kids for me, Nigel. Have a safe journey home." Anna said to the now named Welshman, standing a moment as he turned his head round and smiled at her fondly.

Nigel Hopkins had been her trusted pilot since her days as a girl and a well trusted adult who had always looked after her well under his care. Particularly in recent years, she in return had made sure that he, his wife and two little boys were watched over carefully and kept safe from any bad dealings that may have come their way from being associated with her family.

"I certainly will do, my lady. Any time you want to come see me, Marie and the kiddies, you just give us a bell - you're always welcome with us. And take better care of yourself too - we're still expecting you to be around to do birthday and Christmas cards." Nigel said humorously as he gently reached out and patted Anna on the shoulder, giving her a meaningful look that made her smile wryly and nod.

"In that case, I shall make sure to get cards that have massive badges and can light up each time you open it." Anna stated with smirk.

Nigel roared with laughter as he replied, "Oh yes, the laddies will appreciate that for sure! Off you go, my lady - say hello to your folks for me."

"Will do."

And with that Anna quickly exited the cockpit, thanking the steward for his services by paying him a generous tip and a nod of the head. She stepped out of the plane onto the stairs waiting for her in the open air.

She sighed as she walked down the steps off her private jet, breathing in the fresh English scent of Cornwall and instantly feeling relieved to know that she was back. Her time in Japan had been a turbulence of emotions. And this was why she had returned as quickly as possible, ready to rally up whatever resources she needed to protect her nearest and dearest as well as participators in this upcoming tournament.

Up ahead towards the mansion that was one of quite a few manors that the Samogon and Réalta family owned across the world, Anna could see a couple of familiar figures walking from the building to the runway. It was her older brother, Thomas, and her younger sister, Ophelia, out ready to greet her. Allowing a fond smile to lift up her sombre mood, the pace in her walk quickened and before long, she met them half way.

"We've got some bad news, Sis." Tom put an affectionate and almost comforting arm around her, his attempt at a reassuring smile as sad as was the tearful expression on Lia's face.

Anna frowned instantly at the distinctively sad aura that surrounded her brother and sister - what had happened since she had been away? She looked at both of them and in reading their faces, she broke away from Tom's embrace whilst shaking her head.

"No. No. No. Not Uncle Horatio - not him…" She tailed off when no one interrupted her or even denied what she was saying. Yet again, another had been taken from them. Murdered by the source of the Réalta's misery: the Tenebrae Duodecim.

Her fists began to clench and shake as the anger inside her started to push against her resolve to remain calm.

"He didn't make it out of his coma. He died a few hours ago…We wanted to call you and tell you straight away, but you were on the plane…" Lia stammered, her tears beginning to fall though she had been holding them in as best as she could. She hated it that her older siblings, especially her sister, could be so much more stoic.

Sighing heavily, Anna knew that there was nothing that could have been done to change what had been inevitable from the moment her uncle was put into the hospital bed. She just didn't have the stone in her heart to tell her family in bold and blunt terms that he wouldn't make it. Everyone who was suffering needed her to pull them together and move them forward.

_No tears. No weakness. No time to grieve._

Tom then pulled both of his younger sisters back to him so they were a small huddle together in the middle of the grounds. Despite the storms of tragedy and hatred raging around them, they were Samogons and above all still, together. And in times like this, Samogons never forgot the blood that bound them.

* * *

Anna took a deep breath as she entered Uncle Horatio's room, his bed now no longer surrounded by family and friends alike who had flocked to say their farewells in any respectable way they felt they wanted to.

The last time she had been in his room was just before she had left for Japan. She had been sat beside him, her head on the blankets and her hands clasped tightly in prayer, not even sure why or what she was praying for, or who she was praying to. A quick and painless death? Guidance for her family? Maybe, in some ridiculous bought of hope, that he could have miraculously recovered from his coma?

She didn't know. She didn't care. But she was glad she had that time with him, even if he was so shut off in his brain that he may never have known she was there. If anything, she wanted him to know how much he was loved before his time came. She hoped that in her own way, she had expressed to him how much he had been one of the sources of inspiration for her to be a better person. That he was a guiding light amongst others who had been there for her in ways she would never take for granted.

Anna then moved to the bed, her footsteps almost silent as they dragged along the floor. She looked into his face and saw a peacefulness in his expression, as though when he had died he was merely sleeping and moving from the world of reality to one of dreams. A place where he was surely with the rest who had gone bef0re him.

There were cards, messages and more that littered the room: on the side cabinets, the dressers, the bedroom tables - little tokens to show how much he would be sorely missed. Uncle Horatio had been a kind man, a gentleman who was a lot quieter than the more fiery members of his family, but possessed strength in his wisdom and integrity in his convictions.

"_You're a good girl, Anna, a strong one and free spirit. Nothing and no one has ever taken that from you, and that is something we all aspire to have. Never forget that."_

He had said that to her with a kind smile, the two of them having been sat outside one night when neither had been able to sleep. Not long before they were attacked.

Would he say that now? Just as she was about to think that he wouldn't, she decided to think otherwise. Of course, he most probably would - even when she had done the most despicable things in life, he had always hugged her and told her she was a good girl at heart, and she almost smiled at the thought. She would hold onto those memories as tightly as she could, and she would honour them.

Placing a hand on the side of his cold head, she bent down and kissed his forehead, whispering, "Until we meet again, Uncle H."

And without lingering any longer, the blue eyed tomboy strode out of the room and made to go back to her own, deciding that she needed to be alone somewhere dark and cold to match how numb she felt inside.

* * *

Kai was sat outside the Granger dojo alone back in Japan, frowning at his phone and placing it back in his pocket after having pulled it out for the umpteenth time. He had been wanting to call or text Anna now that he was certain she would be back in the UK. Good thing he had taken the liberty of gaining her phone number so he didn't need to frantically call round different places to come remotely close to getting it.

His instincts in the meantime were wreaking havoc inside of him. He just knew something was wrong where Anna was. In fact he was almost certain that whatever was giving her grief inside, was why she was refusing to beyblade him again

Deciding that he couldn't sit by anymore and let time pass normally, he pulled out his phone and stamped her number into it, holding the phone to his ear when it started dialling.

After a minute or so of waiting, there was finally a click down the other end and Anna's voice wearily answered, "Kai."

"How did you know it was me?"

"It would appear that both of us took some liberties whilst we thought the other wouldn't suspect."

Kai gave a low chuckle. Of course she would've at least guessed what he would do if they were departing from each other on terms that meant they were now back in contact - the fact that she had done the same thing as he had done did not surprise him.

He could hear a bird tweeting down the end of the phone, so he guessed that like him, she was sat outside by herself.

"Back home now?"

"…Yeah."

Kai was now on alert, his heart involuntarily skipping a beat: he could hear the tone in Anna's voice - it was one he had never heard from her before, at least in their time together. But it wasn't her usually steady, calm tone that she could summon even when she was at her most angry. It was a voice that was just above a murmur, something almost fragile. And that in itself made him nervous.

"What's happened?" He asked quietly, though it sounded more like he was commanding her to tell him.

Anna sighed down the phone. The last thing she needed was pity or sympathy. She had sat outside in hope that some sort of meditation and time alone might give her some clarity on the situation. Instead she found herself unable to stop her mood from spiralling further and further down.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I just needed some time to think." She finally uttered, refusing to let her pride fall now. At least if she needed to do so, it would be where no one could see or hear her.

There was a heavy silence as Kai tried to control the urge to demand what was bothering her, though he suspected heavily that a tragedy had struck her and her family - which, whilst very sad to say, made her statement 'nothing out of the ordinary' a very true statement. The Samogons and the Réaltas were no strangers to death, for it had come knocking at their doors and others they knew well for years.

It may have been a long time ago that they would've told each other anything and everything, but he wasn't about to let her go down the path of self destruction. She only wandered near that state of mind when someone close to her died, and he'd had a feeling that she must've first of all known it was coming and second of all felt the burden of responsibility for the death to even have occurred. Whether it was preventable or not.

Why else would she be sat out by herself - **thinking** \- instead of being an anchor for someone else who needed her?

"You and I both do enough thinking throughout the day between us that would rival that of a philosopher. Tell me what's happened."

"There's nothing to be said or done. Another is gone, just like plenty of others…and I'm still here waiting for the next sob story to occur."

Kai leant back against the wall of the dojo and sighed through his nose. He didn't know what to do whilst he was sat over nine hours away from her in a completely different country. What more could he say that might get her back into safer frame of mind?

"Just tell me what happened, Anna. Talk to me." He almost whispered. His fingers tightened around his phone when he heard her swallow, as though she were about to say something.

* * *

"_How's Mary? And Catrina too?" Anna had asked Uncle Horatio when they were sat in the study one evening after he, his wife - her blood aunt - and their daughter had arrived. Often on quiet evenings such as then, they would sit and enjoy a glass of brandy together. Sometimes they had more company than that, but most of the time it was just the two of them, niece and uncle together._

"_Mary's very well, just a bit tired nowadays. Catrina, however, well…I know she's definitely like a certain cousin of hers in spirit." Uncle Horatio chuckled as he and Anna exchanged a wry look of understanding._

_It was no secret to the family that she, out of all the cousins and more, was by far the most hard-headed from the word go - and even in those early days for little Catrina, it would appear the baby would be following in her cousin's footsteps._

"_Yeah, well, we didn't ask for difficult genes, did we?" Anna smirked as she took a swig of her drink. Only to herself and to maybe her siblings did she admit that the youngest member of the family was already within the fondest parts of her heart. She cursed herself for allowing it so soon, but she couldn't help it. _

_It seemed like only yesterday that Catrina's infant blue eyes stared up into her cousin's own dark ocean-like orbs the day she was born, a gaze full of trust that Anna had long since lost._

She's a Réalta but she would've have been a true Samogon…_ Anna thought somewhat fondly. _

"_We wouldn't wish for it any other way, my dear niece. And how are those friends of yours?" Uncle Horatio enquired further._

"_The girls?" Anna thought of the seven young females she had befriended since Kai had left her. _

_They were an unusual mix of personalities, but surprisingly enough they had complimentary friendships with her. There were plenty of different reasons why she had accepted them into her circle of trust, but most importantly since they had all become friends of some sort, she was fiercely protective of them. It was times when they all separated to be with family or duties elsewhere that she realised how much closer they were to her now than they had been in the beginning._

"_Visiting family I presume, though I think Becca and Katie are avoiding that as much as they can. Other than that, I think they're reasonably safe and sound." Anna finally deliberated, downing the rest of her drink._

"_I see. And now I know you hate me asking, but how are you? I trust that you have been keeping yourself well amongst others?" Uncle Horatio asked with a small smile, refilling their glasses with more brandy when they had reached the bottom._

_Shrugging a bit at first, Anna replied, "Same old, same old."_

"_Oh."_

_Judging by his lack of response, Anna guessed that her uncle either was surprised by the supposed lack of new tumultuous events, or he didn't believe her. She had no hesitance in deducing that it was probably the latter. Uncle Horatio may have been a quiet man, one who was not as hot blooded as the men who were part of the Réalta and Samogon clan. But whatever he lacked in stubbornness, he made up for with piercing and nearly always accurate perceptiveness._

"_You shouldn't worry yourself about me, Uncle H. We have far bigger concerns, but they are being…managed." Anna continued, though she'd had half a mind to leave the conversation where it had dropped._

"_I have no doubt that they are being managed well, my dear. We couldn't have a better person for the job." Uncle Horatio finally answered softly, smiling over at his young niece, who then grunted whilst taking another gulp of alcohol from her glass. The two then sat in their seats companionably as time continued, the grandfather clock in the study ticking away steadily._

_It was only then in that silence that Anna's ears picked up on a strange thud that came from down the hallway. Uncle Horatio sat up as he glanced at her._

"_Anna?"_

"_Shush." She hissed at her uncle to keep him quiet, rising slowly from her seat. She silently damned herself for being slightly buzzed with drink, but her senses were still reasonably sharp enough to pick up on some more of the noises now following after the initial bump that had rocked through the walls to her ears._

_Gliding noiselessly across the wooden floor on her bare feet, Anna reached into her desk drawer nearby and pulled out her handgun, loading it and making it ready as she crept out of the study to look down the hallway first._

_Before she could determine her bearings, she was forced back by a kick to the stomach, which sent her crashing to the floor in the study just before her uncle's feet._

"_Anna!" Horatio exclaimed as the male intruder stormed in to attack them, cocking his own gun in their direction._

_Unfortunately for him, his action proved a moment too slow as Anna's quick reflexes kicked in: she jumped to her feet and leapt at him, swinging her foot high to knock the gun out his hands before he could get a decent aim - she then brought a swift yet powerful right hook to his face and her left hand followed by gripping his throat hard enough that the man's eyes began to bulge out of his sockets._

_She took one look into his eyes, dark orbs that were shimmering with fear when he saw her stony expression, and she knew he was not alone._

_Smacking his head hard on the corner of the desk to knock him out, she then swiftly turned to pick up her gun from the floor and looked up just in time to see two more men crash into the room, both armed this time with knives._

_Anna again was far too quick for them - she launched her gun at one of them, hitting them hard in temple so that he instantly crumpled to the floor in agony. The other made to lunge at her and fell victim to having his arm caught, twisted and yanked back behind him whilst she dug her elbow into his shoulder blades to force him to bend over at the waist._

"_ARGH!" The man wailed as the woman half his size continued to hold his arm in the painful lock she had him under. She then looked round to see her Uncle Horatio stood over the other two, holding her gun - both his hands were trembling._

"_You know, I'm mildly disappointed that the_ _Tenebrae Duodecim didn't send more competent fighters to tackle me - in fact, no: I'm __**insulted**__. Did you honestly believe you could break into __**my **__territory and attack me with such pitiful attempts? Right under my nose?" Anna hissed into the ear of the man she had in her grip, feeling even the smallest of the hairs on his neck quiver at the venomous tone in her voice._

_Finally releasing the man and kicking him the back so he landed on the ground with a pained grunt, she was about to tell her Uncle Horatio to call the Network to come and help dispose of the intruders when she saw another shadow down the hall way, holding up an object that flashed silver in the moonlight -_

"_NO!"_

_A shot sounded across the corridor and before another could be fired, Anna ran down the hallway, ignoring the startled cries of her family as she went to tackle the man who had fired the gun._

_Commotion erupted in the Samogon and Réalta mansion as the family rushed to find out what was going on, their horrors confirmed when Tom rushed into the study to find Uncle Horatio on the floor, blood pooling slowly from the back of his neck._

* * *

"Its not your issue, Kai. You're not part of this family anymore." Anna finally answered, her breathing now shallow as a lump began to form in her throat.

The two youths fell silent as the truth finally came out into the open and shattered whatever walls that were left blocking them from being able to understand where one or the other was coming from on that front.

"Anna?"

"What?"

Kai bit his lip slightly, wondering whether what he wanted to say was the best suggestion during a time when the Réaltas and the Samogons were clearly struggling after the blow that had hit them.

"Go and be with Tom and Lia. They probably need you as much as you need them."

Anna closed her eyes at the thought and tried push away the stinging in the backs of her eyes. She was slightly angry with herself that she had so blatantly forgotten that her family needed her - especially Lia, who had staggered off to her room in tears when the three Samogon siblings reached the mansion earlier on.

"Whatever." She murmured in reply, feeling whatever fight she felt she should've given Kai go and disappear into nothing.

Sighing with relief, Kai was inwardly glad that Anna wasn't fighting him on this one. Whatever had gone on before could be put aside for now - he was more concerned with getting her to somewhere safe, with people who would help keep her away from the spiral of self destruction.

"Now stop digging about my business and leave me alone." Anna suddenly replied, realising that her personal thorn in her side was trying to worm his way in to weaken her resolve.

"I'm not giving up until I get that beyblade match off you, Anna. You can claim I'm not part of your circle anymore as much as you like, but you and I both now I've been in far too deep for you to simply cut me out."

"That may be true, Kai. But you have as much chance of getting a match off me as you do of beating Tyson. I'm not going to tell you again. Now fuck off, or I'll send Tom over to you. He's been eager to have the chance to rip your bollocks off."

Before Kai could protest, the line went dead. A sharp shot of anger pained through him and without a second thought, he hurled his mobile phone at the wall of the dojo.

* * *

**xXxCometxXx: **Hello, hello, hello again folks!

If you haven't noticed the changes to the previous chapters, this is just a quick note to say that I have changed them around a bit (including this one). I am also working currently on an update, so please feel free to keep reading until I put the next chapter up.

If you have any feedback for me in the meantime, don't hesitate to drop me a review or a PM to let me know what you think.

Cheers.


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